


Courage in the Face of Adversity

by Wild_Card_Writing



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Because actions speak louder than words, Gen, King Dorephan is a proud cool papafish, Link is mostly mute, Link is secretly shy, Sidon fan-boys too much, Zelda and everyone from pre-botw feels like Link is stranger than he used to be, basically everyone - Freeform, he got a neck injury and never corrected people, he remember bits and pieces from other lives and will probably remember everything, no one quite knows what to do with him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 13:16:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16347422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wild_Card_Writing/pseuds/Wild_Card_Writing
Summary: The time Link kept a lot (tons) of secrets and left everyone else confused.Or not everything is solved by the defeat of Ganon.Post - BOTW(Features Champions back from the dead. A Hylian Princess at her wit's end, and a certain Hyrule Hero who is apparently a ninja in his free time.)





	Courage in the Face of Adversity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tirsynni](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tirsynni/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was an existence that forged in fire, and water and war, and yet once the battles were over, he didn’t know what to do with himself.

Wisdom grants otherworldly knowledge, and how to use it efficiently, but at the cost of their personal freedom as royalty, and as a descendant of the goddess Hylia.  Creation.

Power grants strength used to protect people, but on its own will consume the holder eventually leading down a path of destruction if it cannot be reined in. Destruction.

Courage grants the ability to tap into traits from other species, but at the cost of happiness and eventually sanity if the Master Sword is used. Balance.

XXxxxxXX

 

When Link wakes, he can hear a song playing in the background. It takes a minute for him to recognize it, but when he does he grows sad. Saving the world once should have been enough, but sitting in this pool of water and blood and wherever else leftover from the final battle, he knows this isn’t the end.

It can never be with the Song of Time playing in the background.

Getting to his feet, his wounds pain and prickle him as the simple act of standing seems to be more than his battered and wounded body can take. If only he had an ocarina with him, he could heal himself a little, but he knows he doesn’t. In this life, he was born and raised to be a knight, and learning music was for the enjoyment of nobility, a talent useless for a knight.

Reaching for the Master Sword lying next to him, he uses it as a makeshift cane as he staggers forward inching himself away from the destruction that once was Hyrule castle grounds and the slowly dissolving body of Ganon. He has to find the Princess Zelda of this time and make sure she's okay before he does anything else even though all he wants at the second is to sit down and not move for another hundred years.

As he makes his way past the burnt remains of the trees near the front of the palace garden, he sees Princess Zelda kneeling in the dirt, her prayer white dress in tatters. The sight of her nearly makes him lose his grip on the Master Sword. For all his affection for his charge, there had always been a little bitterness in him when he thought about the bloodline. Even though he knows this incarnation had nothing to do with his curse, he can’t help the anger he feels for Hylia. Her love was a curse more than it was a blessing, and living over and over again was damaging.

Pushing the confusing mess of emotions to the back of his mind, he drops to the floor next to her a little confused about why she’s still praying. He knows Ganon has been defeated for this generation and reaching out to his Triforce, he can feel Power going to sleep.

Looking back to Zelda, he notices her eyes open and on him.

“All this time, I’ve been keeping watch over you…I’ve seen your struggles to return to us, and the battles you fought.” She whispers, her voice quiet but sincere and much more different than most of his memories.

“I always believed that you would find a way to defeat Ganon and you have.” She says reaches out to his face, and Link struggles not to finch. He has far too many painful memories of creatures reaching out to him. It’ll be a while before he’ll be okay with anyone coming too close to him.

She gasps.

Apparently, he didn’t hide that finch as well as he thought.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t move. That looks really bad!” She whispers catching sight of his wounds, blood finally having bled through his layers of clothing and armor. Her hands are moving to his shoulders in an attempt to help him stay sitting up but this time she’s actually pressing on wounds.

He tries not to whimper, but the pain is starting to grow and even as he looks at her, he can’t hear much beyond static. He sees her starting to panic, and he feels a slight pull against his waist as she reaches for one of the last elixirs at his belt, pulling it off quickly, but all she does is add to the pain he's already feeling.

“Drink this,” She says carefully helping the elixir up to his mouth. He doesn’t fight her, and in his condition, he doubts he could have drunk it by himself anyway. His arms are like lead, heavy and immobile as they ignore him. As it is he is clinging to consciousness by a thread.

The Master Sword is lying on the ground next to him, and even as he attempts to voice this out to the Princess she is far too distracted with his wounds to really listen to him. His wounds although painful and varied are minor in the grand scheme of things considering all he needs is some proper bed rest, but she isn't listening to him or to Wisdom even as Link attempts to speak to her through Courage.   

Instead, she slowly tips the contents of the bottle into his mouth carefully, as to not spill a single drop. Link feels his wounds slowly starting to close. Some painfully. Some not. Except for all the wounds healing leaves him feeling exhausted. It was part of the reason he why he ate hearty foods instead of taking elixirs. Even though food had a lower, slower healing rate compared to elixirs, they didn’t make him tired. He feels his limbs sag with pain and fatigue that he finally realizes that the dull ache in his back wasn’t just a pulled muscle but a physical wound as he feels the injury stitch itself back together. Apparently, he was far more injured than he thought.

He sees the darkness from the edges of his vision start to cover his view, overwhelming him. He sees the ground rushing towards him and he hears yelling and the heaviness of feet running before everything vanishes into the void as he slips into sleep and dreams.

He dreams of the moon falling onto a town, of Impa whisking Princess Zelda away, of the darkness stripping Ganondorf’s mortality away to reveal a monster. He hears the first song being played, while a world sinks into despair. He changes from one to four and he's forced into the form of a wolf. He remembers the chains around his neck and the burning of lava on his skin. Zelda's lullaby is playing in the background and—

A woman in white steps out and holds out a sword to him. She crying, begging for forgiveness and even though Link wants to forgive her, he can't. _He can't._ He sees tears falling from her eyes, and as she falls apart, she reaches out towards him even as a red puddle—blood grows underneath him. He can see her eyes pleading with him for forgiveness but he's just can’t give that to her. He's been through enough.

He's tired.

Let him sleep.

His eyes are heavy and there is screaming in the distance and he wants to give up but he isn't allowed to because everything depends on him. He's the Hero and the Hero isn't allowed to give up and it’s so unfair. Everything else has been taken from him anyway.

Why can't he be allowed anything?

Why can’t he be allowed to give up?

Why can’t he rest?

**Hadn’t he done enough?**

He'd rather sink into the void and not have to wake anymore. He's tired of being alone and fighting over and over again for people who will never know him. He’d rather stay here in the darkness of the void. No one can find him here—

A small hand reaches out to him in the darkness. He wants to look up to see who has come near him, but he doesn't want to. He feels like if he does, he will come to hate another person. He's not sure why though.

The person, a woman holds him and although his eyes are on the ground he can see the green of her dress and hair. She seems familiar, but the why or how's escape him. Why does she feel so familiar?

She pats his head and comforts him in the way a mother might, but he can't be sure. He's never had one.

"Dearest child," She says into his ear, but also through his Triforce. "We don't deserve to be forgiven. Even Din's chosen is allowed peace," She whispers to him before pausing. Link can't help but feel marvel at hearing the voice with both his ears and his magic. He wonders if perhaps she is Farore, but doesn't ask because the answer will only cause him more pain. He hates enough people, and he’s jealous of far too many people, its better he doesn't know.

He feels some drops of water on his shoulder and knows that she's crying too. He pats her on the shoulders, hoping to offer some comfort even while he envies her. He wishes he knew how to cry. It’s been too long.

"I won't ask for forgiveness or give excuses. We are to blame. Din's love started this tragedy, Nayru escalated it and yet you suffer. Yet know this, your pain will not be in vain. Every wound and every death upon your body will be paid back in full. The end is near." She whispers in his ears and hugs him once more before she vanishes into green dust.

He hopes she right. He really hopes so.

The wind surrounds him, leaving him alone and lonely before the darkness gives way to sound and pain.

The feeling comes back to his body a rush, pain biting into him one second where before there was none. He takes one shallow breath to get used to the levels of pain while his ears become aware of distant sounds.

His fingers move gently, slowly, almost like he was mimicking the notes for the Song of Time on the grass—except instead of grass he feels soft material. He’s not on the ground, so he knows he was likely moved. There is a clattering in the distance and the sounds of people moving all around him. It reminds him of a few memories he has in the castle, a place full of people in motion. Perhaps he is somewhere similar like in an inn or a townhouse?

A hint of herbs and the bitter scent of red potions give his theory credence and from the light steps of several people, he can just barely hear, he knows he is surrounded by the Sheikah. Perhaps he is in a makeshift infirmary?

It’s hard to tell with his eyes closed and as much as he wants to open his eyes, even this tiny amount of motion has exhausted him. He still needs more rest. Yet, he still wants to know what has happened. Straining his ears as much as possible he can barely make out some of the words from the conversation taking place near him. The tone is the first thing he hears instead of sentences, and even from the bed, he can hear the concern in the few words he can make out.

"...send word to the other races..."

"...your highness..."

"And...is hero...covering?"

"The battle was...difficult…wound..."

“…waiting…”

Impa’s voice is low and carefully measured. It’s like when she was speaking to him of his childhood, all soft tones, but with far more thought into every word as if she's afraid of saying too much and too little all at once. He’s never heard her so worried before.

Did something happen after the battle? Calamity Ganon's defeat should have lessened the effect of Malice across the land, reducing the re-spawn rates of weaker monsters but maybe there was something else he didn’t know about. Reaching out through the Triforce of Courage he doesn't sense anything strange or concerning from Wisdom but that might mean that whatever happened wasn’t physically painful.

Perhaps the Princess Zelda of this time was having nightmares or had some mental trauma after being stuck for one hundred years? He didn’t know but it would make sense. Magic, in general, was finicky, especially magic as complicated as space and time manipulation like what the Zelda of this generation had used would probably be even more difficult.

Though if that was the case, he won’t be much help to her as the holder of the Triforce of Courage, he was weakest of the three when it came to magic...

He struggles to keep his thoughts together as he felt his consciousness slipping as his body starts dragging on his mind. He needs more sleep and more time to rest even though he doesn’t want to. If only he had eaten instead of taking those elixirs, he would be fine...

He slips back into the void, somewhat surprised to discover color instead of darkness. He finds himself sitting on a rock near a grassy field. He's near a cliff edge by one of the shines situated outside Rito Village. He glances towards the east and he can see the sun come up over the horizon. He knows this place well. It's his place, the place he often went to in the real world whenever he needed a break from the rest of the world. Up here, surrounded by mountains and sparse with monsters he's alone. The Rito themselves rarely ventured to this spot on the mountain, instead preferring to sleep within the Village rather than rough it out near the mountain's peak especially since memories of Vah Medoh still lingered in their hearts.

He shifts on the rock, watching the sun climb the sky.

‘Perhaps this was better’, he can’t help but think.

If he had been walking around, Impa and the rest would have put him to work, likely as a messenger between the kingdoms or even as some wandering swordsman slaying monsters across the land. A task that while good for his skills was little more than stalling the enviable. With his duty officially done, he would only a burden upon the Sheikah to house him.

Rebuilding a kingdom demanded resources and manpower, skilled politicians, scholars, and so on and so forth and even if no one would comment on his presence immediately they would eventually.

He could particularly see the situation play out, had seen it a dozen times in other lands, during different eras. First, there would be celebrations and parties, notices would be sent out and the kingdom would set about restoring itself. It might take more time, in this era, maybe even years because of the amount of damage, but sooner or later the whispers, and politicking would start. Other races would attempt to bind him to their people, either through blood or marriage and accepting or denying or even doing nothing, would jeopardize his place with his own people. The Zelda of this time would try and shield him for a short time before she stopped, either because the Sheikah persuaded her, or she realized it was a battle she could not fight if she wanted her kingdom. 

Having the Hero of the Sealing Sword was a boon when Calamity Ganon was on the horizon, but after the battle, he was a problem. Memories still lingered for the other races after the deaths of the other champions; his presence was a reminder of that loss. Some like the Gerudo would scorn him, and the Rito might ruffle their feathers about relying on him, but at the end of the day, all races had monsters in their lands far too dangerous for them to defeat. They needed him in their armies and if possible some of them would try and force him into their households either through marriage or parentage. If he stayed with the Zelda of this time, re-building her kingdom would be harder.

And yet...

Perhaps, this was an opportunity in disguise. Staying in bed, would give him valuable time to consider his options, and figure out what his next move might be.

Still, before he made any decisions he needs to take account of what he has. If he still has the Sheikah Slate then he has his collection of weapons and items, including several weather elixirs and any rupees he earned. If he doesn't have it...

He shakes his head, even from his dreamscape he can feel it near him drawing on his Courage to power itself.

He still has it...or at the very least it is near him. If he can get it before he goes, his journey would be easier. If he doesn’t have it, surviving would be harder and his ability to travel would be limited significantly.

But on the flip side, even if he did have the Sheikah Slate, he would need to limit the amount of fighting he did. The last thing he needed was to be tracked down and be found by either the Sheikah or any of the other races and be forced into their politicking.

But then if he didn't fight, what could he do?

He had that house in Hateno Village and even if he ran out of rupees he was an expert in scavenging for food. So that wasn’t an issue, but then would that be all he did? Hiding out in some frontier village and watching the world move on without him? It’s not like he could do some other profession. He had been the hero for so long that it was all he knew. He had very few life skills beyond taking down monsters, and he had never been to school let alone taught anything that didn’t require swinging a sword.

He felt an emptiness within him at the thought.

Like all those other times.

When the battle was over, did he still have a purpose?

Could he survive in peace?

He still didn’t know after so many lifetimes, and he wondered if he would ever know. Fighting had taken up so much of his life that whenever the battles were over and the war was won for his lifetime, he always felt directionless as if his entire life was solely for that moment and the instance the fight was over, his purpose was gone.

Shifting on the rock once again, he looked up feeling lost. The sun was shining overhead, and although he could see the Rito Village from his seat on the rock, the view didn't comfort him. People meant problems and now after Ganon's defeat people meant conflict.

What should he do?

Thinking back to his memories of other lifetimes he still found no clear answers.

In other lifetimes after fulfilling his role as the Hero, he had retreated to the furthest village in the kingdom hoping to fade into obscurity. It never worked of course. The Princess Zelda of that era was always looking for him, and even though she had never intended it she drew all the wrong kinds of attention. After all, royal knights of the court didn't just go around bothering random peasants and even though Link had tried his best to stay out of the limelight, it got increasingly difficult when people started asking questions. Often times the village would eventually figure out who he was and praise him for his deeds, but ultimately being found created the same problems he tried so hard to escape.

Zelda might promise to respect his decision to live a normal life, but sooner or later her hand would be forced. Maybe some powerful Lynel started nesting near the castle and her knights couldn't defeat it, or there was a stampede of Hinox's near the Zora's domain, or Molduga started attacking Gerudo Town, etcetera. The list was endless. He would once again be called into service and problems would start again. People would call for him to train guards or be part of the knights, and once again he would be chained down. The cycle was never-ending.

He had no problem helping people or running quests it was just everything else that he struggled with. He was more than just a weapon. He was just a normal person that wanted to be left alone and yet no one listened.

Something that seemed more and more apparent the more he reincarnated.

Even though he had settled down in other lifetimes it had been more about well…settling than because he wanted to. He would be forced to don the mask of a Hero for the rest of his life, and then he was never free. A hero was needed here, or there. A hero was needed to fight a war, or defeat that monster, and to be more than Hylian, to be goddess blessed so he was put on a pedestal so high he could never see the bottom. If he failed at anything, he was scorned for it. As the Hero, there was no room for being Hylian. He was supposed to be above it all. He wasn't supposed to have nightmares or show up at breakfast tired and drawn, it made people angry at him because it was a reminder that he was just as mortal as the rest of them.

No one could understand his struggles and triumphs and the less they understood the harsher they were. No one liked to see a hero give up—

Muttering in the distance, brought him out his bitter thoughts. Perhaps something had changed. It seemed rather odd that the Shiekah was meeting up with Zelda again.  Straining his ears to catch even a few snippets of the discussion, he reached out to his magic to help him hear better.

“…our scouts have reported monsters disappearing from some of the hillsides…”

“…so peace truly upon us…”

His control on his magic waned and the voices vanished, as Link's emotions went wild.

It was like the floor was falling out from underneath him again.

He knew it was going to happen again, but so soon?

He was going to lose his place again. This time with pieces of himself still missing.

And yet, what would his lingering gain him?

He had been around the Princess Zelda of this generation and still, he was missing memories. Even those pictures she had stored on the Sheikah Slate were nothing more than copies of her memories. They weren't his memories. They didn't contain anything meaningful for him. All they showed was his time as a royal knight and later his term as the Hylian Champion, there wasn't anything more than that. None of his questions had been answered. So there was really nothing keeping him here. The Sheikah certainly wouldn't mourn him, and he had no one among the people here he could even call a friend let alone an acquaintance.

So leaving really was his best option. Besides the longer he delayed leaving, the harder it was going to be when he was forced out. If he left before it got to that point, he’d save himself some heartache and pain. Princess Zelda was back, and she was really all the kingdom needed. She had the Sheikah Clan behind her anyway. What did one champion matter in the grand scheme of things? Surely the Sheikah would be better suited to guarding and advising the princess. They were after all highly educated in academics and politics.

It was better for him to start moving on.

His mind made up, he started trying to move. Thankfully, his eyes were no longer heavy and against the pounding of his head, he was able to get himself into a seated position before he slowly started trying to get up. It was a hard process because his first attempts nearly had him rolling back on to the bed but slowly he managed to get to his feet. It was like he had been fighting for days. His muscles and bones ached with each motion, and even when he thought back to other lifetimes he couldn't remember ever being in such pain even after his battles with Ganon.

Perhaps he was still too weak?

The thought made him frown. Being weak wasn't an option, because even with Ganon’s defeat, he knew there was always Demise to be worried about. He couldn't afford to be weak.

Hopefully, though it would come to that.

Demise shouldn't make an appearance in this timeline. He hadn't in the last lifetime, but there was always the chance. At the very least he could shore up the wards of the Seven Sages, to ensure nothing went wrong. Reaching to his Sheikah Slate, he re-equipped himself, taking a few moments to eat some hearty food he couldn't help but noticed the absence of the other Champions' presences. There was no background mutters, no hint of magic that symbolized he could use their abilities, nothing. It was strange but understandable. He had defeated Ganon, so there was no need for their spirits to linger any longer. He had gotten used to their odd and sometimes random words of advice, that now that he was alone, he felt lonely—

Pushing his emotions to the back of his mind, as he threw the leftover Kabob sticks into his inventory. He didn't have time to ponder on his loses. Soon enough someone would be checking in on him, and he'd rather avoid having his escape or his intentions known.

Pulling out the Shekiah Slate he clicked on the map.

According to it, he was currently in Kakariko Village, if he teleported to the Lakna Rokee Shine in the forest East of Kakariko he would be able to check Demise's wards. The seal would probably be weakened soon if it hadn't already, and if he went now he might be able to keep it in check for a while longer instead of having to fight it.

After all, now that Ganon was gone, Demise was likely to be temporarily weak as well, and if this time's Zelda was being guarded by the Sheikah. A few more hours wouldn't mean more in the grand scheme of things considering he wasn't going to be her personal knight anymore anyway. As was tradition, the Hero was released from duty after he defeated Ganon and given leave to do as he pleased. It was one of the few stipulations he always asked for any time he had taken on the mantle of a hero, and now that his duty was done, there was nothing to tie him down.

Besides the quicker he left, the more likely he could head off anyone trying to scheme him into marrying this Princess Zelda. As much as she had grown as a person, his memories were too tainted, for him to ever consider a relationship with what was essentially one of his children, even if they technically weren't related.

Pushing that thought from his mind, he tapped on the shrine and feeling himself go weightless vanished into the void.

XXxxxxXX

If he had been present, even a moment later he would have seen the chaos brought on by his disappearance.

XXxxxxXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Link has some issues with the Zelda bloodline, especially considering Hylia was the reason he is constantly reincarnated and he is conflicted about this whole mess. A few his other selves are bleeding into his personality a bit here and there.
> 
> This fanfiction is going to be Link-centric and mostly tackle the fact that Link has a lot of issues about a lot of things he's trying to work about himself, and he's not the only one. Zelda is going to need to take a step back and do some healing herself before she tries to put her kingdom back together again.
> 
> The champions were hinted at somewhat vaguely about the fact they have returned. Zelda and the other Sheikah weren't in Link's room because they were too busy letting the rest of Hyrule know about the defeat of Calamity Ganon and about the re-appearance of the other Champions, so Link's recovery although severe wasn't at the top of their to-do list as they were trying to do clean-up and what not.
> 
> This is my first attempt writing in this fandom. I have only read the manga and played Ocarina of Time so some things may be different, considering I probably didn't do enough research for this fanfiction.


End file.
